Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula has earned a $283 million contract to prep for the construction of the U.S. Navy’s new class of warships
The contract allows Ingalls Shipbuilding to procure long-lead material, execute design work, and begin pre-construction activities for the first ship of the FF(X) class frigate.
The Navy’s new class of smaller combatant ships, the FF(X), is a critical component of the military branch’s fleet of the future. The FF(X) will be a smaller, more agile surface combatant designed to complement the fleet’s larger, multi-mission warships and enhance operational flexibility around the globe.
“We are proud of our past performance in engineering, design, and production of warships that meet U.S. military standards, a performance that gave the Navy confidence to select the national security cutter as the basis for the next small surface combatant and to choose Ingalls as the program’s lead yard,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Blanchette said. “We are excited to partner with the Navy to bring these preproduction steps under contract to accelerate delivery of the frigates that our warfighters need.”
RELATED: Future USS Ted Stevens delivered to U.S. Navy by Ingalls Shipbuilding
Under the contract, Ingalls will begin cutting and shaping raw material to support future phases of work on the main structure foundation and the overall construction sequencing plan of the first new warship. Officials said this new approach is expected to enable a smooth transition from design to production at Ingalls Shipbuilding and eventually across the industrial base.
In December 2025, the U.S. Navy selected Ingalls to design and build the future FF(X). Ingalls previously delivered 10 National Security Cutters to the U.S. Coast Guard and will use the same build sequence for the FF(X) program. The new frigates will be constructed alongside production lines that currently support DDG 51 Flight III destroyers, LHA assault ships, LPD Flight II amphibious transport docks, and modernization activities for the Zumwalt‑class guided missile destroyers, per officials.
To meet urgent Navy demand and support the construction of next-generation platforms, Ingalls has invested more than $1 billion in modernizing its infrastructure, facilities, and toolsets. Ingalls’ parent company, HII, is currently working to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity by increasing the number of distributed shipbuilding partners, collaborating with international manufacturers, and evaluating the addition of another U.S. shipyard.
